1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an assembly line construction and a method for assembling an automotive vehicle body.
2. Description of Related Art
The vehicle body of an automotive vehicle is assembled by welding a plurality of members and parts structuring the vehicle body, such as a floor panel, roof panel, side bodies and so on.
For instance, Japanese Patent Publication No. 21,827/1984 discloses a step of assembling side body sections and an underbody (floor) section, which involves conveying the side body sections and the underbody section separately into a welding station disposed in an assembly line for assembling the automotive vehicle body and welding them by means of welding robots in such a state that the side body sections and the underbody section are aligned or located in predetermined positions.
Heretofore, however, the following problems arise in aligning the side body sections and the underbody section in the welding station. As they are conveyed separately into the welding station, welding robots are caused to wait in a rest state unit work for conveying them into the welding station has been finished and they are ready to weld. This is disadvantageous in terms of work efficiency for welding robots. Further, the operation for conveying the side body sections and the underbody section into the welding station and for aligning them in the predetermined positions are intertwined with the welding operation for welding them in terms of the order of work, timing, etc., so that control is rendered complicate.